MRP / Trib. Whitecross offered a week - But justice, nay commonsense, actually sanity prevails.

[rdhopkins2]

Re: Whitecross offered a week

We must appeal this. WhiteX must get off.
Or else issue the players bibs and netball skirts now in team colours.

Common sense must prevail.

 

[grizzlym]

Re: Whitecross offered a week

We must appeal this. WhiteX must get off.
Or else issue the players bibs and netball skirts now in team colours.

Common sense must prevail.

It hasn't before, why should it now?

 

[MightyHawks]

Re: Whitecross offered a week

The Hawthorn Football Club should release a statement that they believe that Whitecross should not be suspended however they will not challenge it. The whole MRP system is a lottery that we don't usually win.

 

[rooboy44]

Re: Whitecross offered a week

I think its important to take out the fact that Whitecross was compassionate after contact (anyone can be, even after a clean punch in the face theoretically).

Also take out that players didn't remonstrate with him, (as we don't know how many saw the contact properly, especially as it was after the whistle and players may have been running to position.

Also take out the umpires first judgement, as that doesn't mean much with 10 angles of slow motion video replay for the MRP to decide from.

The only thing that matters is the incident. And from watching that on replay, (especially in full speed) it seems obvious that Whitecross braces for impact and nothing more. If Selwood was upside down flying with a leg towards Whitecross' face, he would still have braced for contact. Its a human instant reaction.

I don't understand why they should replay it in slow motion. WX didnt have the luxury of reacting to it in slow motion so why should he be judged by people watching a slow motion replay? But you are right, any person can watch the footage and clearly see that he had about 1/10 of a second to react, and clearly his only reaction is to brace for contact. Anybody who thinks that he attempted a hip n shoulder is delirious.
1. Who tries to hip n shoulder front on?
2. If you look at his footing and his stance you can clearly see that he hasn't even had enough time to stand up and get his feet, let alone decide that hes gonna lay a shirt front. I'd be pretty disappointed if Hawthorn don't do what's right and stick up for this bloke.

 

[MightyHawks]

Re: Whitecross offered a week

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wfu46ZGHm-U

Whitecross had less time to react, used less force, had less intention to make contact, had less ability to avoid the contact, didn't leave the ground than this "accidental" collision.

 

[hawksfan71]

Re: Whitecross offered a week

Someone headbutting your shoulder and you get put out for it, yeah, footballs effing great isnt it, what a shi$house effing week, next week please......

 

[bards]

Re: Whitecross offered a week

Here's where the system is shit.

By arguing down the contact from medium to light, you also forfeit your early plea discount.

So, the points reduction from medium to light contact is negated by the fact that you don't get your early plea discount.

You still get a week

What a ****ing fantastic system.

Incorrect my friend

From the AFL Tribunal Booklet 2012

Contesting at Tribunal
If a player contests the level of the charge at the Tribunal
and is successful, he will still receive a 25% reduction for
the guilty plea.

So he could plead guilty but challange the impact to low and get a reprimand. The MRP will argue that it can't be low as Selwood wouldnt have gone down if it was low. The only way the impact is low is if you say that Selwood contributed to it (which he did, through no fault of his own), so I would be arguing that the contact was a shared thing, and therefore there should be no charge at all.

 

[hawksfan71]

Re: Whitecross offered a week

Hawthorns MRP stuff over the year is like a three stooges cartoon. Who can forget such memorable moments like when Cyril got outed for pushing that bald sack of softness from Melbourne in the chest and when Jordan was instigated in a fake fall from that pric* bombers player, or any of buddys ones when someone happened to run into him. Being a Hawks supporter is tough......

 

[Snooperclyde]

Re: Whitecross offered a week

I really don't understand the sentiments in this thread, accidental or not, Whitecross braced himself for contact with Selwood and it was his intention to make the contact with his shoulder.

I'm sure he didn't mean to get him high, but he got him in the face in the end. You can't prepare to make deliberate contact with someone - regardless of who had the momentum - and then knock them out and except to get off because it was 'accidental'.

Mate ..... What was he supposed to do...... Dive sideways like a sissy to avoid contact or let selwood bowl him over.

He will get off easily if they challenge surely!!!

 

[Off The Couch]

Re: Whitecross offered a week

Just lost for words - thought it was April 1 again

 

[JackTheRussell]

Re: Whitecross offered a week

People, we have nothing to worry about. I can see the similarities with the Mike Hussey/third umpire, run out fiasco over the summer, when they pressed the 'OUT' button by mistake. The MRP will come out tomorrow morning and admit that they pressed the wrong button and should have pressed 'NOT OUT'.
What other rational explanation is there? The AFL cannot be that clueless!!!

 

[Baz_hawk]

Re: Whitecross offered a week

What a joke. Not sure what else Whitecross could have done really. Won the free kick, stood up and saw Selwood running at him (despite the whistle already being blown) and got bowled over.

We have to challange, if we don't then that is basically accepting that letting someone run head first into you can cost you a holiday. I'll be disappointed if we don't challenge to be honest

 

[CarltonKid07]

Re: Whitecross offered a week

If Whitecross gets anything for this then my respect for the AFL will drop rather drastically.

 

[buddyruff]

Sent from my GT-I9100T using Tapatalk
I don't know if its been mentioned but the MRP graded Waters hit on Grimes as Low Impact! Yet the Whitecross 'hit' was Medium Impact. Are these heckin'g clowns on drugs???!

 

[The Big Sauce]

Re: Whitecross offered a week

Lost the last inch of respect for the AFL after hearing this, he should be allowed to line up against my team this weekend

 

[MinerBoy]

Re: Whitecross offered a week

The Hawthorn Football Club should release a statement that they believe that Whitecross should not be suspended however they will not challenge it. The whole MRP system is a lottery that we don't usually win.

I agree, whether they decide to accept the penalty or appeal and are unsuccessful, they should release a statement saying we believe the decision to be clearly wrong and that we have no faith in the system whatsoever.

Make a statement, take the fine.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

Re: Whitecross offered a week

Mate ..... What was he supposed to do...... Dive sideways like a sissy to avoid contact or let selwood bowl him over.

He will get off easily if they challenge surely!!!

Common sense would suggest you're right.....but when it comes to the MRP and tribunal there is no such thing.

I can see us accepting this, purely because the risk in challenging it is too high ....and it's ****ing wrong!

 

[eldorado]

Re: Whitecross offered a week

Interesting to see the comments here..

All Hawthorn fans aghast (as we would be, being biased, I guess)

All AFL fans disgusted with what the MRP is doing to the game.

Quite a few reasonable Cat fans, seeing past the fact that one of their own was hurt, to realize that is was a completely unavoidable accident.

Two completely unwelcome ******** Cat flogs who are deluded enough to think they should be allowed to give us their benefit of their moronic, biased, simple minded half-arsed drivel.



Interesting.

 

[Changa10]

Re: Whitecross offered a week

Interesting indeed Eldorado.

I've now watched the footage of this a lot.

The slow-mo really does do him in I feel, however in real time he had no option nor time to react, any sane person can see this, surely.

In slo-mo you could also argue that Selwood actually turns into Whitecross and initiates contact. He could of taken the option of going left and therefore around Whitecross instead of slightly moving right into him.

Was he trying to get the HTB or Throw (I'm not sure what it was now) decision reversed by getting himself hit high? I'm not sure he was, but it would be plausible. BTW, Cats Fans, I'm not suggesting he ducked his head here, just that looking at this in slo-mo he does also deviate off a line that could possibly have prevented the contact to his head.

Of course things look far different in slo-mo, and I doubt either player had time to make such concious decision, but perhaps if we challenge that is an angle we can work, as I'm sure the MRP will say Whitecross had options in slo-motion!

 

[Dixie Flatline]

Re: Whitecross offered a week

Umpire had already paid a free kick to Whitecross for HTB against Christensen, Changa10.

Hawthorn taking legal advice this morning before deciding whether to appeal, according to the little paper (in print).

Given Hawthorn's recent history in succeeding on appeal, I suggest that they'll probably take the week.

I think that there are three alternatives that Hawthorn could run, namely:

1. the whistle had already been blown for a free kick (to Hawthorn) and therefore the incident occurred outside play;

2. the contact was not negligent; it was accidental (cue the words from the field umpire who watched the incident unfold); or

3. the impact was low, not medium.

The first two get Whitecross off the charge altogether with no carry-over points. The third gets Whitecross' penalty downgraded to a reprimand with carry-over points.

 

[ioppolo]

Re: Whitecross offered a week

I'm not even a Hawks fan but I just saw this on Sunrise and it made me fill up with rage.

Selwood ran into him as he was getting up, wtf kind of bullshit is this? Not even my own team yet I wanna explode because of how pussy the MRP is!

 

[Henry Jr]

Re: Whitecross offered a week

The Hawthorn Football Club should release a statement that they believe that Whitecross should not be suspended however they will not challenge it. The whole MRP system is a lottery that we don't usually win.

The President should send an email to members, explaining the whole process we WOULD have used to fight this.

But agree, take the week and move on.

 

[mrcurly]

Re: Whitecross offered a week

Watching this incident in full motion during the telecast it seemed like he was just trying to regain his feet and Selwood cannoned straight in to him. It is human nature to protect yourself, and he turned sideways to reduce the impact, otherwise he may have ended up out cold too.

I am not even going to revisit the video as each and every time a Hawthorn player is cited by the MRP he is as good as rubbed out, if Rioli can be suspended for the Melbourne lovetap then Whitex is definitely gone for a week.

The ONLY positive from all this is that everybody is screaming about losing Whitex, and 12-18 months ago it probably would not have even raised a murmur, this is a sign of how far he has progressed as a player, he is definitely no longer on the fringe.

 

[grizzlym]

Re: Whitecross offered a week

The problem isn't the incident, it's the ridiculously rigid MRP system that eschews common sense and making a judgment call over box-ticking processes.

As soon as it happened, Whitecross wasn't be assessed by a group of individuals making an assessment of the situation but at the mercy of Anderson's Byzantine set of procedures.

That a panel of expert people aren't empowered to make a judgment call on matters like this, instead of slavishly following a set of pedantic rules is the real issue here.

 

[Changa10]

Re: Whitecross offered a week

I know Dixie that is what I said. Perhaps Selwood was quick enough to try and get the decision reversed with a high contact free, because he had time to make that call, albeit in slow motion.

Sorry, I was being a little tongue in cheek with my prvious post, as to me the only way you could assess this as negiligent is by watching it in slow motion.